Marshall Circuit Clerk named top county official

LACON – Marshall County Circuit Clerk Gina M. Noe’s first clue that she might be in line to be honored as 2016 Illinois County Official of the Year was initially misunderstood as something that caused a moment of panic.

That was when Noe noticed that an Illinois Association of Court Clerks’ meeting agenda listed her name in connection with the award given annual by the much larger Illinois Association of County Officials, which consists of 10 affiliated statewide organizations representing different officials in county government.

Each of those affiliate groups can nominate someone for the award, and “I thought that maybe I was supposed to find someone to nominate and had forgotten,” said Noe, a former president and longtime officer in the clerks’ group.

Instead, she had been designated as the group’s nominee, and she then went on to be named recipient of the IACO award on Nov. 15 at that organization’s fall conference in Peoria.

“I’m still in shock,” Noe said Tuesday.

Besides court clerks, the IACO includes associations of county assessment officers; county auditors; coroners and medical examiners; county clerks and recorders; county board members and commissioners; county engineers; regional school superintendents; county treasurers; and veterans assistance agencies.

The County Official of the Year Award “is given annually to individuals who have contributed to the betterment of county government in a manner above and beyond what is expected in their everyday duties,” the organization states on its website . “It is not a longevity award, but recognition of significant contributions to their county government and county government in Illinois generally.”

Noe was initially nominated by Putnam County Circuit Clerk Cathy Oliveri and then chosen to represent the clerks’ association by its executive board, said Logan County Circuit Clerk Mary Kelley, who is president of that organization.

“Gina is well respected by her peers within our Association, the Judiciary, state affiliates, and legislative leaders,” Kelley said in a letter to IACO.

Noe also found out that her daughters had been contacted for information about her extensive involvement in community activities, ranging from youth sports and music programs to teaching religious education classes, co-organizing fund-raising drives, and volunteering in various organizations.

“It’s not only based on what you do in your job, but also what you do in your community,” she said.

Noe, a Republican, was elected circuit clerk in 2000 after working in the office for eight years, and she has been reelected without opposition every four years since then. She has credited predecessor Jean Davis, who retired in 2000, as a key mentor in her career.

“She taught me so much,” Noe recalled when Davis died in 2014. “I would not be in the position where I am today if it had not been for her.”

Today, Noe herself is in a similar position with regard to other clerks, Kelley pointed out. One of her many roles in the profession involves serving as a “mentor to new clerks with her wealth of knowledge in all areas,” Kelley noted in her letter to IACO.

“She has been a huge asset to our organization,” Kelley added in an interview. “We’re very pleased and happy for her that she was chosen.”

It appears to have been the first time that a circuit clerk was chosen since 2004, and that was someone from much larger DuPage County, Noe said. So it was further gratifying that the award plaque presented to her is hanging on a wall in little Marshall County.

“It’s amazing,” she said, “that someone from a county of less than 13,000 people could not only be heard but recognized for this high honor.”

Author: Gary L. Smith

Gary L. Smith is a free-lance writer who has contributed regularly to the Journal Star since 1993. He reports primarily on events in Marshall, Putnam, and Stark Counties, and the name of this blog is derived from the way that judges in the Peoria-based 10th Judicial District refer to that area.
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